It is well known to form high intensity luminaries formed of clustered high intensity electric arc light elements, for illuminating sports arenas, large traffic intersections, parking areas and so forth.
Usually such luminaries are mounted on crossarms on top of tall light poles so that the light can be distributed over large areas. U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,881 shows such a crossarm-mounted assembly of light elements all connected to an assembly of ballast coils with their associated supporting elements.
The luminaries according to the known art has the drawback that the ballast circuits and associated components are installed at the top of the light pole and, therefore, whenever service is required a service person must climb up the pole or be hoisted, usually by means of a so-called "cherry-picker" with a hydraulically operated basket lifting the service person to the top of the pole. This is a cumbersome and expensive procedure because the "cherry-picker" is normally mounted on a large truck, and most frequently service problems are related to the ballast circuits required for each of the light elements.
It is accordingly a primary object of the instant invention to provide a ballast assembly that is installed away from the crossarm-mounted luminaries, preferably near ground level, for more convenient serviceability.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a ballast assembly that is arranged such that the ballast components have better cooling, thereby assuring longer life and less frequent servicing.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment which is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.